Hippie Stomper 01/30/2022 Photo Album
I cannot find enough superlatives to describe this valued weapon in my fly fishing arsenal, so I will just say, “Wow”. Check out my post from a year ago, for an update and click on this link to my post of 11/18/2018 for a materials table. The story of my introduction to the hippie stomper can be found in my 01/13/2018 post.
My success over the past year surpassed even my highest expectations, and I am a confirmed believer in the hippie stomper. The stomper delivers results year round, and I use it solo and as part of a dry/dropper and double dry rig. It is small enough to minimize the impact on the water, yet buoyant enough to support two size fourteen beadhead nymphs. In a double dry fly configuration I position it first and trail a smaller dry, and it enables me to track the smaller fly quite well. I recommend using a short dropper of six to twelve inches, should you wish to experiment with the double dry approach.
From the Side
What does a hippie stomper imitate? It is hard to know; however, I believe it is first and foremost a terrestrial. However, it could easily be taken for a stonefly or a green drake. During the western green drake season I often knot a hippie stomper with a peacock body to my line along with a nymph dropper or another dry fly during the hours that precede a hatch. I believe that the peacock hippie stomper is close enough to a green drake adult to draw attention or looks prior to the actual hatch. This technique enables me to hedge my bets, as I test for what the trout are tuned into.
A Clump of Stompers
As I generally forget the tying steps from year to year, I have settled on the fly tying video from Andrew Grillos to refresh my memory. Andrew is the creator of the hippie stomper, and it represents his signature fly and one of the most popular in the Umpqua Feather Merchants’ catalog. Simply Google Andrew Grillos to find the video.
A Different Angle
As you might imagine, heavy usage produced significant shrinkage, so I tied twelve new models with peacock dubbed bodies and five with olive ice dub bodies. The olive body flies are the first to go on my line during green drake season. I cannot recommend a fly more highly than the hippie stomper.
What size Hippy Stomper is needed to be buoyant enough to support two size fourteen beadhead nymphs? Are these nymphs bead chain or tungsten? Thanks.
Hi George. I have reduced my tying to entirely size 14’s. It supports size fourteen beadhead nymphs with brass gold 3/32″ beads. I rarely use tungsten beads. They are expensive. I suspect there are situations where they might get me deep faster, but I guess I’m a creature of habit. Dave